Business

Publicly traded marijuana multistate operators exited regulated cannabis markets through late 2023, continuing a pattern fueled by increased capital costs, high taxes and the slow pace of federal reform. New York-based The Cannabist Co., for example, recently exited Missouri and Utah after what CEO David Hart called an “arduous year.” Meanwhile, Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp. wound down its presence in Massachusetts. (This map pinpoints where the large MSOs are operating.) While some companies may have invested too heavily in expansion plans or tried… Read more.

In the cannabis industry, no day is more anticipated than April 20, or “4/20” in the vernacular. Often referred to as the industry’s “high holy day” or unofficial holiday, companies and individuals mark the day with product launches, promotional offers, and community events. Legal businesses seize opportunities to drive sales and create goodwill, making the period leading up to the “holiday” an ideal indicator of sales trends and challenges. What will customers seek this year? How can you stock those products in… Read more.

The average price for a pound of cannabis flower fell 8.1 percent nationally in 2023 to around $995, but cultivators in Alaska, Ohio, and Missouri still enjoy the hefty wholesale prices from a largely bygone era. According to a new report from Leaflink, Alaska leads the country with an average wholesale flower price of $2,374.74 per pound, followed by Ohio at $2,282.70 and Missouri at $2,065.88. It’s worth noting the report presents Ohio’s pricing data in grams to align with how… Read more.

Two of the nation’s leading marijuana advocacy groups—NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)—have ended talks about a potential merger that was being considered as way to consolidate resources amid a challenging fundraising environment for cannabis reform organizations. After months of negotiations about possibly joining forces, the boards of the organizations have suspended those discussions, MPP Executive Director Matthew Schweich told Marijuana Moment. NORML’s board also confirmed the news. CelebStoner first reported earlier on Monday that NORML’s board of directors voted to… Read more.

A trio of West Coast marijuana companies hosted separate investor calls on Thursday, but they all highlighted their focus on the same basic business fundamental moving forward: helping cannabis consumers find value-priced products in the regulated market. The three businesses – Glass House Brands (OTC: GLASF), Lowell Farms (CSE: LOWL) (OTCQX: LOWLF), and Leafly Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LFLY) – also had another trait in common: They all lost millions in 2023 and are searching for a path to profitability. During its earnings call, Glass House CEO… Read more.

Cannabis stocks soared Friday on the news Germany’s parliament legalized cannabis for personal possession and use. Canopy Growth Corporation’s stock (NASDAQ: CGC) surged a remarkable 39 percent, capping a weekly gain of more than 106 percent. Others on the NASDAQ, including Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB, up 26.6 percent), SNDL Inc. (SNDL, up 21.5 percent), Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY, up 18.5 percent), and Cronos Group Inc. (CRON, up 9.2 percent), also witnessed substantial increases in share prices. Under the new law,… Read more.

The CBD maker also extended its partnership with Major League Baseball. Charlotte’s Web (OTC: CWBHF) has been caught in a protracted sales downturn, but management is optimistic that it can still turn the tides for the once stand out CBD maker. The MLB-partnered company reported a 14.8% slide in net revenue in 2023, down to $63.2 million from 2022. Lower sales in both e-commerce and business-to-business (B2B) sectors drove the decline. While the company has been taking “multiple actions to maintain… Read more.

A Michigan marijuana company is surrendering its processor licenses because it was combining legal and unregulated cannabis in extracts sold in the adult-use and medical markets. Lansing-based TAS Asset Holdings, also known as Noble Road Co., received a consent order and stipulation from CRA, the Lansing State Journal reporting, citing an announcement from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA). TAS Asset Holdings hasn’t operated since February 2023 after the CRA issued formal complaints and suspended the company’s licenses. “TAS has been closed since February 2023… Read more.

Leading up to the 2020 election, optimism about the prospects for significant federal reform was rising in the cannabis industry. After all, politicians on both sides of the aisle were more open than ever to meeting with lobbyists about banking reform, releasing the unjustly incarcerated, federal taxation, and all the other potential benefits and ramifications of federal legalization. Unfortunately, the tides mostly have swung in the opposite direction since then. The former buzz about legalization has become more like a faint murmur. Arguably, interstate… Read more.

The Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon (CIAO) is calling for lawmakers to make permanent a restriction on the licensing of new cannabis companies that is set to expire in April, according to a KLCC report. Before the statewide licensing moratorium was enacted in 2018, officials had issued over 3,000 licenses for the production, manufacturing, and retail of adult-use cannabis products, the report said. “There are so many businesses competing for the same amount of market share that it’s just not feasible,” said Mike Getlin,… Read more.

Is a town in Colorado the first to become a cannabis ghost town? Westword’s Thomas Mitchell reported that the green rush of cannabis business licenses in Colorado left the town of Ordway a “ghost town,” filled with vacant growing operations. Hasn’t this happened before? Out of the hope of profitable veins of gold sprung boomtowns during the California Gold Rush, a mid-19th century rush of people seeking a fortune from gold. Bodie, California, for instance, soared to over 8,000 people looking for gold… Read more.

The human resources trends set to dominate 2024 are certain to disrupt the industry, mostly for the better. This year will be prosperous as multistate brands continue to expand into other states, but there will be challenges. One major inflection point will relate to rescheduling, with cannabis likely to shift from Schedule I to Schedule III. On the competition front, the biggest curveball will be the hemp-derived THC market, which offers a massive loophole for selling products outside dispensaries and without interstate… Read more.

A slew of new cannabis laws and regulations went into effect Monday in Colorado, addressing issues such as online retail sales, intoxicating hemp products, lab testing and hospitality. Among the new laws and rules highlighted by the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) in an announcement last week: HB 23-1279: Lifts restrictions of online cannabis product orders and payments at retail stores. SB 23-271: Authorizes regulators to develop rules and potential restrictions regarding chemical modifications, conversions or synthetic derivatives of cannabinoids. The law… Read more.

With 23 state contracts to provide cannabis track-and-trace software and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags under its belt, Lakeland, Florida-based Metrc has risen to dominate the space. But more than a decade ago, the company was just an idea, according to Metrc CEO Michael Johnson. “The original use for RFID in cannabis – and the whole reason Metrc came about – was a specific request from the state of Colorado,” Johnson said in an interview with MJBizMagazine. The company started as… Read more.

A hemp-based battery manufacturing company is coming to a town in Wisconsin with a goal to hire former employees of Energizer. Portage, Wisconsin-based Wisconsin Battery Co. (WinBat) makes batteries out of hemp instead of graphene, for use in devices like hearing aids. Earlier this month, WinBat announced that it has acquired 17 acres of land in the Portage Industrial Park to develop its battery plant. According to a Dec. 21 press release, development will focus on: Industrial batteries: Creating energy storage… Read more.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Tuesday that opening up interstate cannabis commerce for the state’s cannabis industry would carry too much risk of federal enforcement. Gov. Gavin Newsome (D) last year signed into law a proposal giving licensed cannabis companies the right to export their products into other state-legal markets. However, the law would only apply if there was some assurance that there would be no legal interference from the federal government, which still prohibits cannabis as a… Read more.

Coda Signature, an early entrant in Colorado’s regulated marijuana market, is the latest brand to cut business operations in the state. The homegrown, award-winning cannabis edibles maker will concentrate efforts in other markets after facing escalating challenges in Colorado since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Denver alt-weekly Westword. “Colorado’s cannabis market declines in recent years combined with the significant oversupply has caused the company to make the difficult decision to close operations in Colorado,” Coda Signature told Westword in a… Read more.

New York issued what is believed to be its first cannabis product recall after the discovery that a single lot of gummies “did not undergo the required testing for consumer safety and product quality.” The product, “Jenny’s Zee Zee gummies, 2:1 THC/CBN,” were “sold through licensed cannabis dispensaries throughout New York State” between Sept. 4 and Nov. 1, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) said Tuesday in announcing the recall. The batch and lot number for the offending gummies is ZZ-23–07-13-0001, the… Read more.

Cannabis multistate operators with medical marijuana licenses in New York received the green light from state regulators Friday to enter the adult-use market on Dec. 29, exactly one year after the state launched recreational sales. The Cannabis Control Board’s approval had been anticipated for months, but the decision marks a controversial milestone in the rollout of the state’s recreational marijuana market. It follows the New York State Supreme Court’s Dec. 1 decision to lift an injunction that had prevented regulators from handing out… Read more.

Arizona-based physician and president of the Scottsdale Research Institute, Dr. Sue Sisley, is globally known for having led the only Food and Drug Administration-approved randomized and controlled study examining safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis flower in combat veterans suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—a huge accomplishment. Dr. Sisley continues to advocate for the lifting of federal restrictions on cannabis research through her work as principal investigator at Scottsdale Research Institute and Field To Healed Foundation and as a… Read more.

Cannabis sales on the day before Thanksgiving surpassed sales on Black Friday, accounting for 21% of the weekly gross market value over the holiday week, according to order data from Weedmaps. The day before Thanksgiving has been dubbed “Green Wednesday” due to historically strong cannabis sales.  Weedmaps saw 42% growth in total order volume on Green Wednesday and the average basket value that day was 103% higher than the average Wednesday during the month of November; however, the day’s gross market value was… Read more.

As founder of MATTIO Communications, the largest cannabis-focused marketing and public relations agency in North America, Rosie Mattio is considered a powerhouse PR person.  Since launching the firm as a one-woman operation in 2004, Mattio has redefined conversations around the emerging industry by garnering global media coverage in mainstream publications for clients, including the first cannabis article ever published in Oprah Magazine.   Mattio has worked in the cannabis space since launching her company nearly two decades ago and says time… Read more.

After years of rapid expansion – and, more recently, swift exits – some of the nation’s largest cannabis multistate operators have continued to streamline operations this year, according to MJBizDaily’s latest update on the operations of several of the nation’s largest MSOs. Two of the country’s biggest MSOs, Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis and Chicago-based Cresco Labs, exited state legal cannabis markets in the past five months, reflecting ongoing efforts to strengthen balance sheets as the industry awaits widely anticipated federal reform and improved investor… Read more.

You may recognize Vanessa Dora Lavorato from VICE TV’s James Beard Award-nominated cooking show Bong Appétit, which she co-hosted for all three seasons (2016-19). Lavorato discovered her love of cooking when she was studying at UC Berkeley and soon became passionate about fusing her two favorite ingredients: cannabis and chocolate. This deliciously dope combo eventually led her to create Marigold Sweets, a California-based edibles company whipping up luxurious, high-quality chocolate truffles.  Lavorato’s popular online show, The Edibles Club, sees the talented chocolatier… Read more.

California cannabis brand Dosist has been acquired by longtime Los Angeles partner Final Bell Holdings International. Under the agreement, Final Bell acquired the intellectual property of the brand and assumed its debt, company executives told MJBizDaily in advance of an official announcement. No cash was exchanged in the deal. “With Final Bell’s acquisition, Dosist will grow and become more accessible for those wanting a companion to a healthy and active way of life,” said Dosist founder Jason DeLand, who will oversee the integration. Santa… Read more.

Chief executive officers at the largest cannabis companies by revenue have moved past the $400,000 base salary threshold with annual salaries topping $416,000—almost ten times what mid-level managers in the industry make, according to a new report from executive search and staffing agency ForceBrands. According to the firm’s 2024 salary and benefits report for consumer cannabis brands, recruiters are seeing increased interest in securing “hyper-relevant candidates” from outside the industry who can honor core cannabis culture while applying best practices honed in more traditional and mature… Read more.

One after another, many of Canada’s largest cannabis greenhouses and indoor grow operations have been sold or mothballed as the industry continues to search for a supply-demand equilibrium after years of overproduction. The facilities, each costing anywhere from 100 million Canadian dollars ($73 million) to more than CA$500 million, are being closed for various reasons. Some of the operations crashed into the cannabis industry’s hard macroeconomic realities: Canadian cultivators bankrolled and licensed too much cultivation capacity before and after adult-use legalization in 2018,… Read more.

Village Farms International (Nasdaq: VFF), an agriculture veteran turned cannabis grower, is weathering a competitive cannabis market by betting on brand variety and operational efficiency, executives said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. The British Columbia-based company, traditionally known for its produce, has shifted much of its growth narrative toward expanding Canadian cannabis segment. The introduction of the Fraser Valley brand to Ontario has driven positive results, grabbing decent market share by targeting cost-conscious consumers during a period of industry-wide price compressions. CEO Michael DeGiglio cited the… Read more.

Institutional investors are increasingly bullish on U.S. cannabis multistate operators, according to a new survey, which suggests marijuana rescheduling by the federal government could convince those big investors to put new money into MSOs. The group’s sentiment is “more bullish than it was six months ago, mostly because of (the prospect of) rescheduling,” said Frederico Gomes, a cannabis equity analyst with Calgary, Alberta-based ATB Capital Markets and lead author of the report, which surveyed 23 institutional investors between Oct. 23 and… Read more.

40 Tons, a social impact cannabis brand striving to change lives by helping those with past cannabis convictions find careers in the industry, is led by CEO Loriel Alegrete. While that’s the primary goal, she says the company collaborates with other brands, retails premium products and provides education and opportunities for those who need it most. The company sees the objective as a win-win since it also brings value to businesses in need of candidates.  Alegrete co-founded the businesses and… Read more.

Missouri regulators have notified cannabis operators that thousands of marijuana products under recall since August have been released for sale. The roller-coaster situation was first detailed by MJBizDaily. The Department of Health and Senior Services’ Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) have released nearly 15,000 products that were under recall, according to an Oct. 20 notice. That’s about a quarter of the 62,000 cannabis products that have been under recall. The infused products contained distillate manufactured and sold by Missouri-based Delta Extraction and its affiliates. The… Read more.

Despite the challenges in the Michigan market, cannabis operators are preparing to expand. The 2023 Michigan Cannabis CFO Outlook found that a quarter of cannabis companies in the state were actively seeking capital for expansion at this time, while nearly half said they plan to look for capital within the next 12 months. The data, analyzed by A&K Research for use by Rehman Business Consulting, represented cannabis companies with revenue ranging from $5 million to more than $100 million. Nearly half – 47%… Read more.

A potent concoction of slowing capital markets and inactivity in Washington D.C. bears the majority of blame for the industry’s lackluster fundraising performance in 2023, but poor growth and contracting margins are what’s really been keeping investors away. According to the cannabis deal tracker provided by Viridian Capital Advisors, worldwide cannabis capital raises are expected to hit a multi-year low by the end of December. The $1.72 billion closed through the first 41 weeks of the year is 50 percent short of… Read more.

The percentage of women and members of minority groups holding executive positions in the cannabis industry has returned to pre-pandemic levels after a significant drop during the past three years, according to a new report from MJBizDaily. In 2019, MJBizDaily estimated that more than 36% of marijuana executives were women and 28% were from minority communities. Whether by choice or not, people from both groups exited cannabis leadership positions in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic upended the world economy. By 2021, women were estimated… Read more.

In the heart of the Windy City, an event of innovation and empowerment is about to unfold. The Midwest Women in Cannabis Summit, hosted by the Green Market Report, promises to be a transformative gathering for women seeking to make their mark in the booming cannabis industry. The conference is set to take place on Nov. 2 at Chicago’s Epiphany Center for the Arts, a historic former church, as like-minded women who share a passion for the world of cannabis come together. From… Read more.

Two cannabis industry groups in Oregon have decided to join forces in a merger that comes amid a downturn in the state’s market for legal marijuana. The two groups, the Oregon Cannabis Association and the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon, announced the merger last week following unanimous votes by the boards of directors of each organization. The newly merged group is named the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon and represents more than 500 member businesses in the state’s licensed cannabis… Read more.

When Massachusetts-based multistate operator MariMed decided to launch a delivery service in its home state two years ago, company executives started studying other cannabis carrier services to become experts on the subject. They considered launching a distribution service from scratch and also looked at acquiring a delivery company in Massachusetts before deciding to invest in Little Dog Delivery. The state had granted a social equity delivery license to Sebastian Pollack, a senior production manufacturing administrator at MariMed, and the two… Read more.

Missouri marijuana executives are hoping to return to some sense of normalcy after the state’s $1 billion-plus cannabis market underwent whiplash last week over the status of 62,000 infused products recalled from store shelves back in August. The back-and-forth began early last week when cannabis operators thought they had turned a corner in a saga that has cost them millions of dollars in lost sales and inventory. The initial sense of relief came as state regulators began clearing for sale… Read more.

As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration weighs whether to revise marijuana to a Schedule 3 controlled substance, regulated cannabis producers are looking forward to the prospect of easing their heavy tax burdens under Section 280E of the federal tax code. Moving marijuana to Schedule 3 from Schedule 1 would end 280E’s effect on the cannabis industry, allowing state-regulated companies to “deduct, for federal income tax purposes, all their ordinary and necessary business expenses, the same as any other company would do,” said… Read more.

Myles Baker is only six years out of law school. In a couple of months, it’s likely the associate attorney for Detroit firm Dickinson Wright PLLC will make partner — an often-elusive reward for a young lawyer. Baker is only 31 years old. He has marijuana to thank. Most associates aren’t even eligible for partnership, which means higher compensation and revenue sharing in law firms until they are eight to 10 years into their careers. But the legalization of cannabis… Read more.

Rhode Island’s licensed marijuana retailers sold more adult-use cannabis than ever in September, according to newly released state numbers. Overall sales, however, fell just a hair short of a $9.67 million monthly record in August due to a drop in medical cannabis purchases. September sales of recreational cannabis products totaled $7,116,727.00, according to the latest numbers from the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation. That’s the greatest amount since legal sales to adults launched in December 2022. Medical marijuana receipts… Read more.

U.S. giant Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) is seeking a $143 million tax refund from the government for payments made in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The company argues that based on specific legal interpretations related to section 280E, it shouldn’t have been required to pay certain taxes. “Trulieve has filed amended federal returns for three prior tax years claiming a $143 million refund for taxes already paid that the company believes it does not owe,” a company spokesperson told Green Market Report in an… Read more.

Two cannabis bills were recently sent to the desk of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and if passed, would work in tandem to allow the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) to do business with local Native American cannabis businesses, and vice versa. Currently, state licensed cannabis and tribal cannabis businesses must operate separately from one another and cannot trade or do business with one another. Senate Bill 179 and Senate Bill 180 would permit these two distinct parts of the industry to interact.… Read more.

Poseidon Investment Management is a leading cannabis venture capital firm co-founded by managing partner Emily Paxhia with her brother, Morgan. Paxhia has spent nearly a decade reviewing thousands of cannabis companies and is active in the investment decision-making and oversight processes. She collaborates with her partners to create deal structures, ensuring that proper governance is carried out at the company level.  “I work with my colleagues to draw more women into leadership in cannabis,” she says. “More than half of… Read more.

An administrative hearing to weigh the merits of a massive marijuana product recall in Missouri has been pushed to December. Missouri’s Administrative Hearing Commission was set to hear arguments from cannabis regulators and Delta Extraction, but a joint motion between the manufacturer and state attorneys extended the hearing to Dec. 1 at the earliest, the Missouri Independent reported. Missouri regulators suspended Delta Extraction’s marijuana business license on Aug. 2 and accused the company of sourcing materials from an unlicensed facility. Then, on Aug. 14, the… Read more.

The mood was upbeat at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago as the industry’s power players converged on the Magnificent Mile Marriott Hotel for two days to reconnect and reflect on what felt like the lowest year legal cannabis has endured to date. The industry’s optimism initially sprung from the Department of Health and Human Services’ August 30 recommendation that the DEA reschedule cannabis, igniting some hope that our latest bear run is behind us. During the conference, the… Read more.

Financially troubled Hightimes Holding Corporation, publisher of iconic High Times magazine, has agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) more than half a million dollars to settle charges the company “fraudulently promote securities” during and after a Regulation A stock offering that began in 2018. “From 2020 through 2021, Hightimes engaged in a scheme to deceive investors by paying undisclosed compensation for the purportedly independent recommendation from ‘Palm Beach Venture,’ an investment newsletter,” according to the SEC’s complaint. “Investors were given the… Read more.

North American marijuana retailers and growers are leading the pack when it comes to raising capital over the past 12 months, but the industry as a whole has hit a very rough financial patch compared to a year ago. Capital raises overall are down 61.2% year-over-year. According to the Viridian Capital Advisors Deal Tracker, cannabis companies completed 177 capital fundraising deals for $2.58 billion in the past 12 months, which is down almost two-thirds from the same period in 2021-2022, when… Read more.

In the increasingly competitive retail sector, constructing the right dispensary tech stack is mission-critical. Your dispensary’s technical infrastructure, along with data management and use, can create a significant competitive advantage when carefully selected and strategically integrated. On the other hand, a haphazardly assembled tech stack without proper attention to integrating multiple systems can severely hamper operations, stemming the flow of revenue and needlessly limiting opportunities for growth. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as “the best” setup. Identifying the optimal technology… Read more.

More Canadian cannabis companies are tapping government funding sources to finance research and other projects as private-sector capital has become harder to come by. MJBizDaily found that more than 3 million Canadian dollars ($2.2 million) worth of federal funding was provided to almost two dozen companies over the past year, according to the government’s Grants and Contributions portal. Since 2018, the year Canada legalized recreational marijuana, roughly CA$32.8 million worth of funding has been provided to dozens of cannabis businesses by… Read more.

A multi-hyphenate talent, Susie Plascencia’s skills as an entrepreneur-storyteller-advocate make her well-equipped in her role as Brand Partner for Humo, California’s Mexican American-owned cannabis brand, which describes itself as “raza owned,” stemming from the phrase la raza (meaning “the people”) and its roots in post-revolution Mexican history. “Being a woman in the cannabis industry means overcoming numerous stereotypes on a daily basis and doing so with grace and tenacity,” she says. Additionally, Plascencia is co-founder of MOTA Glass, a Los… Read more.

Trips to the Bahamas. Rolex watches. Expensive cars. Exclusive concert tickets. Or literally just bags of cash. Those are all ways used by independent marijuana brands in Arizona to buy their way onto dispensary shelves, according to several industry insiders, responding to the news that multistate operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp. – which runs 21 dispensaries in the state – filed a lawsuit against former employees alleging a “commercial bribery” scheme. “Those are all the same concepts. It’s all just paying for shelf… Read more.

Wholesale cannabis prices stabilized or rebounded in some key markets through the summer, but cultivators should brace for renewed downward pressure as the fall harvest boosts inventories through the end of the year, experts say. Chalk it up to simple supply-and-demand dynamics. “Over the course of this month, you start to see a huge buildup of inventory across the industry,” Ben Burstein, strategist at New York-based wholesale cannabis platform LeafLink, told MJBizDaily in an interview. “You start to get huge surpluses of… Read more.

After the market closed on Friday, SNDL Inc. (NASDAQ: SNDL) told investors that it finally took steps regarding its SunStream joint venture and its underperforming Parallel cannabis assets. The company’s joint venture Sunstream Bancorp launched SunStream USA with the expectation that Parallel will be restructured. In March 2021, Sundial Growers Inc., now known as SNDL, formed SunStream Bancorp, a 50/50 joint venture with SAF Opportunities LP, a member of the SAF Group. SunStream Bancorp is the owner of $145 million of junior notes owned by Parallel that… Read more.

A widespread recall targeting tens of thousands of infused cannabis products in Missouri has led to millions of dollars in lost sales and inventory for retailers and manufacturers, according to industry sources and court documents obtained by MJBizDaily. At the same time, scores of operators caught up in the fallout have few options to recoup those losses. Some retailers, such as Kansas City-based multistate operator Greenlight, have locked up thousands of vape pens and other products in vaults after Missouri regulators… Read more.

E-commerce technology company Squarespace Inc. (NYSE: SQSP) announced a partnership with dispensary tech company Jane Technologies to offer its products to cannabis businesses in Canada. “At Square, we’re always looking to solve sellers’ pain points and we know cannabis dispensaries have limited options when it comes to reliable and integrated commerce tools,” said Roshan Jhunja, Head of Retail at Square. “Sellers are looking for an easy-to-use, fully integrated omnichannel solution to help them run their businesses in person and online. We’ve been fortunate to… Read more.

One of Angela Pih’s favorite aspects of the cannabis industry is its velocity. What she’s referring to is the “incredibly exciting” speed of bringing new products to market within months. With extensive experience across retail, consumer packaged goods and cannabis, Pih is head of marketing for StateHouse Holdings, a vertically integrated California-based cannabis enterprise. From the moment she engages you in conversation, it’s quite evident the woman knows what she’s talking about. One industry trajectory Pih isn’t a fan of is the… Read more.

Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. entered into subscription agreements with institutional investors in a private placement offering for gross proceeds of approximately $25 million (33.8 million Canadian dollars). The offering of roughly 22.9 million units occurred at a price per unit of $1.09, an approximately 22% discount from Friday’s close, according to a Monday news release. Smiths Falls, Ontario-based Canopy said the investors hold an over-allotment option allowing them to acquire up to about 22.9 more units. The gross proceeds from… Read more.

Columbia Care Inc. (NEO: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) is changing its legal name to The Cannabist Company Holdings Inc. as it aligns more closely with its retail store name. The company is rebranding to The Cannabist Company and is also changing its trading symbols on the CBOE Canada to “CBST” and “CBST.WT”, respectively, for the common shares and warrants. “The rebrand to The Cannabist Company marks an incredibly pivotal moment for us as an organization and speaks to where we are heading. When we launched Cannabist, we wanted… Read more.

Unlike the myriad of challenges operators in New York face, new applicants in Maryland are stepping into a distinctively encouraging environment as the state gears up to expand its already-successful adult-use market. The state is set to open its first application round for adult-use marijuana licenses on Nov. 13, which is earmarked exclusively for social equity businesses. The upcoming 30-day application window will usher in opportunities for 179 new marijuana licensees, including: 75 dispensaries 16 growers 32 processors The new licenses will… Read more.

With cannabis stock prices stalling and sliding over the past few years, companies increasingly have turned to debt financing as a means of raising funds. Last year, debt made up more than 90 percent of capital raised by American cultivation and retail companies and 55.7 percent of capital raised in the United States industry overall, according to data collected by strategic advisory firm Viridian Capital Advisors. In October 2022, multistate operator (MSO) TerrAscend Corp. secured a $45.5-million loan from real estate… Read more.

With its right hand, Tilray Brands has consolidated a swath of the Canadian cannabis market, most recently buying Hexo Corp. in its quest to grow market share. With its left hand, Tilray has gone on a beverage alcohol acquisition bender in the United States. After several alcohol acquisitions that turned Tilray into one of the largest U.S. craft brewers, the company recently announced an $85 million deal to acquire eight craft beer brands from brewing behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev. As the dust settles on Tilray’s latest… Read more.

Marijuana sales along state lines are key revenue generators for retail operators in the United States, and new insights suggest a similar business bump along international borders, particularly Mexico. Data compiled by New York-based wholesale technology platform LeafLink – as well as information gathered from state agencies, quarterly reports and interviews with several cannabis companies – bear that out. LeafLink analyzed hundreds of ZIP codes at the request of MJBizDaily and found strong links that when new recreational markets open, retailers near… Read more.

Australia and Israel were the top markets for Canada’s medical cannabis exporters last year, as the quantity of flower shipped overseas continued to surge, according to new figures shared by Health Canada with MJBizDaily. In the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year, Canada’s exports of medical marijuana flower were 59,986 kilograms (roughly 132,200 pounds), a 48% increase over the previous year’s 40,640 kilograms. The vast majority of exports, however, went to only three countries, meaning exporters risk being dependent on a very… Read more.

Few female entrepreneurs have enjoyed the kind of widespread accolades and recognition in the cannabis industry as Nancy Whiteman. Often called “The Queen of Legal Weed,” Whiteman is founder of the Wana Brands Foundation and CEO and co-founder of Wana Brands, North America’s leading cannabis edibles brand available in 15 states and throughout Canada.  Whiteman says Wana Brands’ mission is to create efficacious products that deliver customized experiences for health and wellness or recreational effects. The company places a strong… Read more.

A combination of tax methods could help cannabis companies reduce their tax burden under Section 280E of the federal tax code. If recent case law is applied equitably, the cannabis industry could be sitting on millions of dollars in unclaimed federal tax refunds. The first, a method I call “the 280E asset,” is supported by very old case law and a recent federal claims court decision that barred the practice of deductions being recognized as basis. Basis refers to a business owner’s… Read more.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) intends to “start back at square one” in the medical cannabis licensing process, the agency told a judge on Monday, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The comments came during a hearing in court where the agency was defending a lawsuit claiming it had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act.   During the hearing, the AMCC and plaintiffs in the case agreed to extend a temporary restraining order prohibiting the commission from moving forward with its licensure process… Read more.

A Pennsylvania judge has ordered the dissolution of a heavily indebted, state-licensed medical marijuana company that was once part of former chewing-gum magnate William “Beau” Wrigley Jr.’s fledgling cannabis empire. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christine Ward issued the dissolution of Goodblend Pennsylvania on Aug. 21, according to Green Market Report. The judge’s order, first reported by Law360, is the latest marijuana-sector setback for Wrigley and his former company. Wrigley took over as the CEO of Florida-based cannabis company Surterra Wellness in 2018. Rebranded… Read more.

Arguably the most important woman in the cannabis industry, holding the position of chief executive officer at Florida-based cannabis behemoth Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a nationwide multi-state operator currently valued at $1.14B, Kim Rivers joined Trulieve at its inception and has since played a pivotal role in advancing the company’s customer-centric strategy, strong growth, strategic development and market-beating profitability.  To assure quality, operational integrity and financial success, Rivers insists on supervising every step of the cannabis production process, from seed to… Read more.

Two indices tracking the performance of cannabis businesses on North America’s largest stock exchanges have been discontinued amid waning investor interest in marijuana stocks and billions in losses suffered by the companies. The S&P/TSX Canada Cannabis Index was decommissioned with little fanfare earlier this year after being launched on Jan. 20, 2020, a spokesperson for S&P Dow Jones Indices confirmed in an email to MJBizDaily. A second cannabis index, the S&P/MX International Cannabis Index, was decommissioned in November 2021. The S&P/TSX Canada Cannabis… Read more.

Red tape, illicit market competition, and a lack of enforcement by regulators have all created a “doom loop” for licensed cannabis companies in New Jersey, one of the state’s leading trade organizations claimed in a recent report. According to the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association, the state has been too slow to act on processing new business permits and dragged its feet on combatting the illicit market, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, which has the trade group warning that business conditions need to… Read more.

Josephine & Billie’s is the first dispensary in South Los Angeles focused on being made-for-and-run by women of color. The store is named in honor of entertainment legends Josephine Baker and Billie Holiday, two outspoken Black cannabis enthusiasts in the early 20th century. Baker and Holiday were ostracized for their use of cannabis and became unintentional advocates before their time. The celebrated performers used their respective talents to bend the rules and open the door for future rule-defying women. Whitney… Read more.

Michigan’s marijuana regulatory body is taking too long to crack down on businesses that have violated state regulations, according to a state audit. The state’s Office of the Auditor General said in the report that the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) takes up to two years to enact disciplinary action and needs to speed up its processes, according to The Detroit News. “Timely action helps CRA mitigate potential risks to Michigan’s cannabis consumers and reduce future licensee violations,” the report contends. The CRA told… Read more.

Despite a looming deadline with its lender ExWorks, High Times named Shaun Jarvis as interim chief executive officer. The financially troubled cannabis media company saw the departure of CEO Paul Henderson, who was also the interim chief financial officer and a director of Hightimes Holding Corp. on August 15. In his resignation letter, Henderson said he left his position for health reasons. Jarvis’s tenure may be short, however. High Times was given until Sept. 30 to come up with the money to satisfy its… Read more.

We’re about a year into what is undoubtedly the most challenging stretch the cannabis industry has faced since the legalization movement began. The initial hype surrounding the industry’s potential as the next great American boom has slid back to a harsh reality. The combination of local government blunders and federal government inaction, crippling levels of taxation, and an illicit market that largely operates with impunity has mired legal operators with challenges. As a result, businesses are operating in a drastically different climate from the one… Read more.

An increasing number of county and local elected officials across California are acknowledging a longtime cannabis industry grievance – legal companies’ taxes are too high – and cutting local levies on retail sales, business operations or both. At least 14 cities and counties in the state – including key consumer markets such as Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as less-populated, production-focused areas like Calaveras and Humboldt counties – have reduced or eliminated local sales, business or cultivation taxes… Read more.

Cannabis tax revenues in Colorado are outpacing those of cigarettes, and other tobacco and nicotine products, and alcohol, according to an August 16 analysis from the Colorado Legislative Council Staff (LCS). In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Colorado collected $282.3 million in cannabis tax revenue, compared to $233.9 million from cigarettes, $60.5 million from tobacco products, $56.4 million from nicotine products, and $56.1 million from alcohol.  Adult-use cannabis sales in the state carry a 15% excise tax, 15% special sales tax, and 2.9% general sales… Read more.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wall Street was salivating at the cannabis industry. Seemingly every cannabis company was going public, whether it should or not. Investment bankers were happily signing big checks and crowing about the green rush. The requisite puns were consistently bad whether it was an industry “growing like a weed” or “pot stocks are lit.” Now, however, it seems cannabis has lost its buzz for Wall Street. Major Wall Street firms cut equity analysts, and banking dollars dried… Read more.

Tilray Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: TLRY) (TSX: TLRY) is buying the remaining 57.5% of shares in THC-infused drink line Truss Beverage Co. from Molson Coors Canada, the company said Friday. In a statement, Blair MacNeil, President of Tilray Canada, expressed excitement for the move. “In addition to acquiring full and direct ownership of a stable of high-growth brands, this acquisition further strengthens Tilray’s No. 1 cannabis market share position in Canada and positions the company at the forefront of the adult-use beverage sector,” MacNeil… Read more.

Marijuana retailers across the United States are adjusting to handling and securing more cash in-store after Mastercard’s abrupt decision last month to halt millions of dollars in cannabis purchases involving its popular debit card. Operators are also bracing for the possibility that global financial giant Visa will follow suit while facing growing threats their increasingly cash-heavy operations will become even more attractive to criminals. Some marijuana retailers are zeroing in on improving in-store communication with customers and the overall shopping experience in… Read more.

Historically speaking, the golf course has been a place for men. After all, it’s an easy excuse for leaving a chaotic household or the office for half the day. Not many sports provide four hours of uninterrupted play where one can develop close connections with friends and business colleagues. One of the most mentally challenging games, golf tests one’s ability to think strategically and get out of challenging situations.  Now, more women than ever are picking up the clubs and… Read more.

Multistate operator Jushi Holdings Inc. (CSE: JUSH) (OTCQX: JUSHF) isn’t really interested in M&A these days. Instead, the company standing its ground, waiting on some of its core U.S. state markets to graduate from medical-only to adult-use. “Jushi is in a very unique situation in the industry where our large footprint in Pennsylvania and Virginia, including one Ohio store, means – excluding California – approximately 71% of our retail stores will likely flip to adult-use at some point in the… Read more.

The newly elected Missouri state auditor, Scott Fitzpatrick, launched a formal investigation into how the state oversees its medical and recreational marijuana industries, fulfilling a campaign pledge he made last year in his run for the office. According to The Missouri Independent, the audit kicked off on Aug. 2 when auditors met with officials from the Department of Health and Senior Services, which houses the state Division of Cannabis Regulation, the state agency tasked with overseeing the marijuana trade. Fitzpatrick told The… Read more.

Top executives at Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (Nasdaq: CGC) did their best this past week to convince stakeholders that the business is now making progress on a “path to profitability,” as Chief Financial Officer Judy Hong put it during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. Hong and CEO David Klein tag-teamed during the call to argue that cost-cutting measures, a strategic pivot to an “asset-light” business model, and further investment in brand partnerships, such as the one the company has with… Read more.

Several years ago, I worked with a marketing team that wanted to convey their company’s technology was driving evolution in their industry. The tagline the team settled on was “The revolution will be televised.” But that R at the beginning of the word makes a big difference. Evolution and revolution are two very different things. Revolution—from the same root word as revolve—refers to a turnaround, be it sudden or gradual. It implies a complete or radical change from the current… Read more.

Brandon Kanitz, CEO of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based marijuana company Fluresh LLC, moved to Traverse City, Michigan, in September 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had closed schools, the family man needed help with child care and his wife’s family lived in the Grand Traverse region. But moving put Fluresh in violation of Grand Rapids’ medical marijuana social equity system, which requires 25% local ownership. The city’s licensure scoring system provided “bonus points” to companies that committed to local ownership, a diverse workforce… Read more.

After the markets closed on Wednesday, NewLake Capital Partners, Inc. (OCTQX: NLCP) announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. The real estate lender reported that the second quarter revenue increased 8.2% to $11.4 million. NewLake also reported that its quarterly net income was $5.8 million, while the funds from operations (FFO) totaled $9.5 million, and the adjusted funds from operations were $9.9 Million. The company gave AFFO guidance for the full year 2023 of $39.8 to $40.8 million, an increase… Read more.

Retail trends generally roll in waves, but the waves look more like oscillations in the cannabis industry. Michigan is an excellent example. By 2016, before the state legalized adult use, retailers and speculators were snapping up storefronts at three to five times the going rate. That enthusiasm was unsustainable. Today, you’ll still find dispensaries paying twice as much per square foot as their nearest neighbor, but you’ll also find them paying a lot less. “The price per square foot was $80.… Read more.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ: REFI) announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. The commercial mortgage real estate investment trust reported that its net interest income fell 8.3% sequentially to approximately $13.7 million. However, this was an increase over last year’s net income of $11.8 million for the same time period. The company attributed the drop to the impact of the timing of early principal repayments and the lower average principal outstanding during the quarter. Chicago… Read more.

Notorious Mafia kingpin Al Capone never filed a federal income tax return, claiming he had no taxable income. Before he was convicted of tax evasion in 1931, he boasted, “They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.” The rationale might resonate with cannabis companies in the United States, which manufacture and sell a federally illegal product but are expected to pay federal, state, and local taxes anyway. In fact, companies nationwide have been racking up tax debt at an alarming rate.… Read more.

Canada’s federal government accounts for a growing share of the unpaid debts racked up by failed cannabis companies, lending credence to claims the nation’s nascent adult-use industry is suffering from pricey fees and heavy taxation. A review of recent insolvency filings by MJBizDaily found that the Canada Revenue Agency, the federal tax collection body, and Health Canada, the national department in charge of regulating cannabis production, are commonly among the biggest unpaid creditors for insolvent marijuana producers. In the 2021-22 fiscal year,… Read more.

It’s an old Wall Street strategy on dividends – getting paid to wait. In cannabis stocks, this could be the way to go since valuations have been terribly slow to recover. Year-to-date cannabis stock performance has lagged other sectors. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) is down 23% year-to-date and has tumbled 52% for the past year. The Global X Cannabis ETF (POTX) has also slid 36% year-to-date and  60% for the past year. Compare that to the iShares… Read more.

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc. (Nasdaq: MNMD), (NEO: MMED) reported its financial results for the second quarter ending on June 30. The company has no revenue to report at this time, but the net loss for the quarter increased to $29.1 million versus last year’s net loss of  $17 million for the same period in 2022. It did note that it had cash and cash equivalents totaling $116.9 million versus $142.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2022. MindMed said it believes it has enough… Read more.

Mastercard’s new hardline demand that banks and payment processors immediately halt cannabis transactions involving its debit card has upended the marijuana industry and put more licensed operators at financial risk, industry insiders told MJBizDaily. The latest development, first reported by Bloomberg, is expected to affect adult-use and medical marijuana retailers the most as well as their customers. Those consumers will likely revert back to the days of cash-only transactions – a throwback in an era when digital wallets are used to buy… Read more.

This article will discuss the 26 biggest marijuana companies in the world, understand some recent industry trends, and navigate the future of the marijuana industry. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can head directly to the 5 Biggest Marijuana Companies in the World. An Analysis of the Cannabis Industry According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, the global cannabis market was worth $43.72 billion in 2022. The industry is expected to reach a valuation of $57.18 billion by the… Read more.

More Cookies investors have sued the cannabis industry darling, claiming the prominent California-based marijuana brand mismanaged their $15.5 million through “multimillion dollar kickbacks and other self-dealing” that benefited company founders at investors’ expense, court documents filed this week show. But what could be a more troubling sign for Cookies as well as the struggling marijuana industry, Cookies allegedly ran out of money last summer when it missed a key valuation and then “burned through most of” an additional $23 million… Read more.

Morón's tenure has brought a generation of women entrepreneurs to the fold. Gia Morón, president of Women Grow, a professional network for women in the cannabis industry, is set to depart from the organization, effective July 31. Morón is stepping down to devote more energy to her business ventures, according to a release Thursday. The company’s board chairwoman and CEO, Dr. Chanda Macias, will maintain her leadership role. “Gia Morón was fundamental and instrumental to the growth and success of so many… Read more.

A Massachusetts cannabis testing laboratory is accusing the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) of retaliating against it after its CEO testified to lawmakers about public health concerns and lab fraud related to the state’s cannabis industry, the Boston Herald reports.   During a hearing Tuesday testifying on bills that would change the way the cannabis industry operates in the state, MCR Labs CEO Michael Kahn said the “CCC enforcement staff may be misusing investigations as a pretext to silence and harass licensees.”  Kahn said… Read more.

Multinational tobacco giant Philip Morris International is buying the Israeli cannabis tech firm Syqe Medical in a deal worth up to $650 million, according to the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist. Syqe’s chief product is a metered-dose pharmaceutical-grade inhaler that allows patients to measure an exact dose of medical cannabis. If completed, the deal would mark one of the biggest investments in the cannabis space by a tobacco producer in recent years. In 2018, Altria Group, one of the largest tobacco companies in… Read more.

Vermont’s cannabis companies are ineligible for federal disaster aid for losses caused by flooding in the state last week, VT Digger reports. During a press conference Monday, Carl Dombek, public information officer for the Small Business Administration, said the agency has to “follow federal law” and because cannabis is a Schedule I drug at the federal level, the agency is “not able to lend to cannabis dispensaries.”  Chelsey Smith, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) individual assistance branch director, told VT Digger that… Read more.

The U.S. marijuana wholesale market has apparently reached a bit of stabilization this year, after a precipitous drop in 2022, and has even rebounded somewhat since last year, according to a recent report from Cannabis Benchmarks. For the week that ended July 14, wholesale prices decreased by 3.1% to $1,020, according to the report, but that’s still an increase from December, when wholesale prices had dropped to $955, Benchmarks reported at the time. The spot index report found that wholesale prices have… Read more.

Now that most of New England has legalized cannabis in some form or another, it’s worth looking at which states are the largest markets. While the smaller states with the least population are expected to be the ones with the lowest total sales, the largest state – New York is lagging. In just five years, Massachusetts has become the leader in the region having reached the billion mark in just two years. New Jersey is in second place, but quickly… Read more.

Metrc didn't send invoices for nine years, but wants unpaid fees. A Colorado licensee has been fighting Metrc over unpaid fees for tags and in the latest round a judge said Metrc could withhold tags – potentially shutting down the business. Natalie Romolt is the Chief Executive Officer and owner of Colorado-based National Green Source (Green), which she acquired in 2018. Metrc is the vendor chosen by the state of Colorado to issue seed-to-sale tracking devices for the regulation of legal cannabis plants. Licensees in the… Read more.

250 years after the original Boston Tea Party, cannabis protests against 280E. As hopes for Federal legislative relief for the cannabis industry begin to fade, the focus has returned to the issue of 280e. In that spirit, MariMed Inc. (CSE: MRMD) (OTCQX: MRMD) surprised the crowds at Boston Harbor when they boarded the Liberty Star schooner and reenacted the tea party revolution. The executives dressed in colonial costumes tossed boxes with the word “weed” overboard instead of tea and chanted anti-280e slogans. MariMed CEO… Read more.

When Ben Kovler can’t sleep, it’s a sign that something’s wrong. In 2015, for example, after the Chicago-based marijuana multistate operator won three of the 20 medical cannabis cultivation licenses up for grabs in Illinois, the founder and CEO of Green Thumb Industries couldn’t sleep. The former math teacher and private equity executive thought that the company was biting off more than it could chew, and he wasn’t sure Green Thumb had the money to build out three facilities. So… Read more.

Despite a quieting of headline-making layoffs in the cannabis industry over the past year, the industry continues to face challenges ranging from a robust illicit market to the lack of any progress on federal legislation. And as a result, cannabis companies continue to quietly downsize their operations, as revealed by recent company filings with the Canadian Securities Exchange. Fewer Bodies4Front (OTC: FFNTF) laid off 58 employees in June, according to the company’s Form 7 update from Friday. “Across all subsidiaries,… Read more.

Colorado’s regulated cannabis industry suffered its “worst 4/20 in five years,” according to the Marijuana Industry Group, citing a roughly 14% decline in April marijuana sales from the same month last year. “Marijuana sales in the month of April haven’t been this low since 2018,” the Denver-based trade group noted in a news release. Monthly figures released by the Colorado Department of Revenue show nearly $131.6 million in total marijuana sales for April. That’s down from $153 million in sales in April 2022. Neither the Department… Read more.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office appears to have put an indefinite hold on an idea floated in May by state regulators for marijuana farmers markets, a plan popular with growers because it would have provided a safety valve for hundreds of pounds of unsold marijuana crops from 2022. The idea was first announced by the state Office of Cannabis Management almost two months ago, at which point OCM staff said they were hoping to have some farmers markets operational by… Read more.

California-based marijuana multistate operator MedMen Enterprises hired Ellen Deutsch as CEO and Amit Pandey as chief financial officer. One of the few women installed in the top role at a marijuana MSO, Deutsch “succeeds interim CEO Edward Record” effective immediately, according to a news release. Deutsch is at least the fifth CEO to lead MedMen since January 2020. “Ellen’s leadership and strong operational experience in the public cannabis sector will prove invaluable as we complete our restructuring plan and transition into a new phase… Read more.

Unpaid regulatory fees owed by cannabis companies to Canada’s federal government jumped more than 200% from a year earlier, to almost 4 million Canadian dollars ($3.1 million) as of the end of March, MJBizDaily has learned. The overdue fees have grown every year since 2019, as cannabis businesses licensed by the federal government struggle under the weight of taxes, fees, an intensely competitive market and poor business decisions. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the fees in arrears grew to CA$3.9 million, 225%… Read more.

Cronos Group has received a number of expressions of interest about a possible sale and is reviewing those offers, the Toronto-based cannabis producer said. “Cronos is in the initial stages of reviewing these indications of interest, and there can be no assurance that any agreement or transaction will result therefrom,” the company said in a news release. Reuters reported Thursday that Cronos is exploring a potential sale. Cronos is currently working with a financial adviser to handle the expressions of interest from other companies,… Read more.

Nearly a decade after Colorado ushered in legal adult-use cannabis sales, police in the state’s capital city report a significant drop in illicit product on the streets. According to the report from Denver’s municipal government, the city – which was the first in the U.S. to open adult-use marijuana retailers – has seen a 74% reduction in the amount of illegal marijuana processed by police since 2014. Denver’s leaders attribute that to a decrease in demand for unregulated products and the potential… Read more.

California-based marijuana distribution giant Herbl is going to the courts in a bid to recover some of the roughly $10 million it claims retailers owe the company, which fell into receivership in June. At the same time, according to court and investor documents, at least one of Herbl’s former brand partners – Sunset Connect – is suing to recover a six-figure debt the San Francisco maker of pre-rolls claims that Herbl owes and refuses to pay, records show. The unprecedented struggle over… Read more.

Considering how lengthy national cannabis prohibition and the subsequent societal brutality of the War On Drugs were, it’s quite daunting to consider that recreational cannabis has been legal in Colorado for nearly a decade. Since the 2012 bill Amendment 64 passed by an 11% margin, the Rocky Mountain State’s cannabis industry has grown to support the livelihoods of some 41,000 people at its highest point of job creation and sold $1.7 billion in total retail sales in 2022 and more… Read more.

Here we are, going through another quirky cycle in the cannabis industry. During times of change and downturn, many pause to reflect where they are—and where they’ve been. I found myself doing exactly that as I took a two-week break from a crazy twelve months of heavy travel in my first year with Grove Bags. With so many others sharing their challenges and frustrations with the current state of the industry, I suppose this moment inevitably would have come for… Read more.

In April, cannabis giant Curaleaf received a disconcerting notification from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) indicating regulators planned to deny license renewals for almost all the sprawling multistate operator’s locations in the Garden State. The notice cited a recent cultivation facility closure, staff reductions, and clashes with labor unionization efforts as justification. The development quickly drew the ire of Chief Executive Officer Matt Darin. An otherwise amiable and upbeat fellow, he wasted no time in responding to the unprecedented CRC… Read more.

The large-scale merger of marijuana multistate operators Cresco Labs and Columbia Care is in question after the companies failed to divest assets necessary for regulatory approvals by the June 30 deadline. It’s not clear if the companies are still working toward completing the transaction or if they will abandon it. “At this stage, Cresco and Columbia Care are working amicably with respect to the next steps in relation to the transaction and will provide further updates in the near future,” the companies… Read more.

A $200 million fund to support social equity marijuana retailers is now certain to be fully funded, following a new $150 million investment deal with Chicago Atlantic, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced Friday. Chicago Atlantic Admin LLC committed up to $150 million in senior secured capital for the Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, which will be used on a rolling basis to lease dispensary space for qualified cannabis retail locations. The funding deal delivers on a pledge made by Hochul in March 2022 to… Read more.

Even with the recent financial and tax woes roiling California’s marijuana industry, there’s little doubt that it remains the world’s largest cannabis market. The state will ring up nearly $5.9 billion in legal recreational and medical marijuana sales in 2023, the recently published MJBiz Factbook estimates. To put that in perspective, marijuana sales in California could support the economy of a small island nation. For example, the gross domestic product for the Caribbean island nation of Barbados will total $6.1 billion in 2023, according to the International… Read more.

Cannabis software company Metrc renewed its contract with the state of Ohio to provide seed-to-sale tracking services for the state’s medical marijuana program. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Florida-based software maker was first contracted by the Ohio Department of Commerce in August 2017 to help the state develop and administer a track-and-trace infrastructure. Ohio launched its medical marijuana program in January 2019. Efforts are underway to expand the Midwest market to adult-use sales. In late May, a bipartisan group of Ohio legislators reintroduced a recreational… Read more.

A significant player in the psychedelics industry has received a $5 million infusion from hedge-fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife, deepening the couple’s efforts to bring mind-altering therapies into the mainstream. The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation is donating the funds to MAPS, or the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies, a nonprofit that has pushed for more research on psychedelic drugs since 1986. The organization is engaged in a financially-intensive push to get the… Read more.

Prices have been on a rapid slide since the summer of 2021, reaching record lows by the end of last year. After nearly a two-year stretch of deflation, marijuana prices in Colorado are showing the first signs of life since October 2021, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The retail price for a pound, which had plummeted from a peak of $1,731 in January 2021 to a historic low of $649 by April 2023, has risen to $703 in June 2023.… Read more.

The U.S. cannabis industry is benefiting from long-desired tax relief now that an increasing number of states – 20 so far – have approved laws that exempt, or “decouple,” businesses from Section 280E of the federal tax code. This spring, legislators in Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey and New York passed legislation that will allow cannabis companies to deduct business expenses from their state income taxes, despite those companies remaining illegal under federal law. The savings could be in the millions… Read more.

Herbl, a major licensed California marijuana distribution company, is in receivership after falling behind on a key loan, a source close to the situation confirmed to MJBizDaily on Tuesday. The collapse of Herbl – which reportedly handled $700 million worth of product sales in 2022 – is the most prominent failure of a cannabis company in the state to date and has major implications across the industry. Potentially tens of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices are due to brands across the state, which… Read more.

In an effort to further diversify the cannabis market and welcome more women of color, Sheena Roberson, founder of Cannabis Noire, is hosting the inaugural Women of Color Cannabis Business and Wellness Experience: “High-er,” taking place June 24-25 at the StoryFactory and Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. The conference aims to create a secure and supportive environment where Black and brown women can amplify their voices, gain valuable insights and forge new opportunities. The event draws women from all corners… Read more.

At least five cannabis companies have recently announced equity deals. It’s been well documented that equity capital raises in cannabis have withered on the vine. As stock valuations plunged – by as much as 90% in some cases – investors had little interest in getting more stock in a company. In fact, according to Viridian Capital Advisors, which tracks deals in the cannabis industry, capital raises are off to a multiyear low. Year-to-date capital raises are down 85.3% from 2022.… Read more.

Programs must address systemic inequities that exist across the board. In the run-up to the national Juneteenth holiday, which marks the date in 1865 when Black Americans in Texas learned they’d been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Green Market Report reached out to a pair of Black women cannabis industry leaders to get their thoughts on how far the marijuana industry has yet to go on racial equity. The answer was simple: It’s so far that it’s hard to even put into… Read more.

Cannabis companies will be able to deduct business expenses at the state level. Connecticut on Tuesday became the latest in a national trend of states with operational marijuana markets to approve state-level relief from the 280E provision of the federal tax code. According to Marijuana Moment, the new state budget that Gov. Ned Lamont signed will let cannabis companies claim state tax breaks in the same amount they would have been entitled to from the federal government if 280E did not exist.… Read more.

A cannabis oil company is poised to go public next week in a landmark deal, sidestepping Canada’s downtrodden traditional IPO route after merging with a long-standing, listed crude producer. Zyus Life Sciences Inc. completed a reverse takeover of Phoenix Canada Oil Co. Ltd. on June 9, raising C$20.1 million ($15.1 million). The company, which makes cannabinoid drugs to treat pain for osteoarthritis and bone cancer, is set for its trading debut as Zyus Life Sciences Corp. (ticker ZYUS CN) on… Read more.

Nearly $23 million in legal cannabis sales was recorded in the month of May - an increase from April. The state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) recorded approximately $21 million in adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana sales last month. Of the $23 million total in May, $11.5 million came from adult-use sales and $11.2 million came from the medical marijuana market, DCP officials said. State data shows that adult-use cannabis sales have increased each month this year. State officials said medical marijuana… Read more.

State regulators and government officials nationwide are taking steps to ramp up enforcement against cannabis companies that fail to pay vendors, taxes or business fees. New Jersey is the latest to take a hard line against delinquent operators, revoking cultivation and manufacturing licenses in early June from a company with unpaid fees. It joins California, Michigan and Nevada, New York and Oregon in targeting such companies. Some of these states are implementing enforcement measures, while others are taking steps to… Read more.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis passed a ground-breaking law allowing the sale of marijuana products online. After a month of consideration, this landmark decision ushers in a new era for the state's cannabis business. By embracing e-commerce, Colorado joins other progressive states at the forefront of integrating online platforms into the cannabis industry. This progressive move not only enhances accessibility for consumers but also paves the way for innovative business opportunities within the industry. Colorado's leadership in embracing online marijuana sales sets a precedent… Read more.

Fire and Flower Throw in the Towel, Citing Significant Losses An initial order for creditor protection has been granted by a Canadian court to Fire & Flower Holdings and its cannabis-related businesses due to significant net losses of more than $150 million ($200 million) that have accrued since 2018. The Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) was used by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to grant this order, which enables the company to continue operating as it currently is and interact with… Read more.

Plant-touching and ancillary cannabis businesses are operating within one of the world’s most fragmented regulatory landscapes. And as more U.S. markets come online, keeping track of cannabis compliance requirements will only become more complex. The importance of marijuana regulatory compliance cannot be overstated. Implementing a robust compliance program is critical to protecting not only businesses but also licenses, pipelines and reputations. It is also key to creating a culture of accountability that encourages employees to follow the rules, which frequently… Read more.

Estimates say the illicit market accounts for roughly 60% of San Francisco cannabis business. San Francisco has apparently settled on a deal for a temporary ban on new marijuana business permits in the city, after an initial proposal to indefinitely prohibit new license applications was walked back. Under the terms of the measure approved unanimously by the city Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, no new cannabis business license applications will be eligible for consideration until New Year’s Eve in 2027 at the… Read more.

Nearly 25% of cannabis retailers are already in arrears for state taxes. The legal California cannabis industry is in such dire financial straits that it may need a state-funded bailout if it’s to continue operations after this year, according to one longtime industry insider. The most immediate problem is that hundreds of businesses are already behind on their state taxes, and might literally be unable to come up with the cash to pay those bills, said Jonatan Cvetko, the executive director… Read more.

When New York state began laying the groundwork for its recreational cannabis industry last year, officials cast atoning for the harm done by the war on drugs as a cornerstone of the ambitious plan — and promised to give people who were previously convicted of marijuana offenses the first opportunity to sell it legally. Today, that effort appears to be foundering: Although Gov. Kathy Hochul suggested last fall that more than 100 dispensaries would be operating by this summer, just… Read more.

The company's decision to file for bankruptcy underscores the ongoing challenges in the sector. Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (OTCQX: FFLWF), a major Canadian cannabis retailer, is seeking creditor protection under the Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the company said Tuesday. The company and a string of its subsidiaries have received an order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for creditor protection, marking a notable — yet foreseen — shift in its financial circumstances. Previously, Fire & Flower has been open about its active pursuit for additional… Read more.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) last week signed a bill to allow online sale of cannabis products. The law requires customers to provide proof of age and that purchases are picked up in person at the retailer’s physical location.   The law’s intent is to limit some of the in-person cash transactions at retailers as federal law continues to limit cannabusinesses’ access to traditional financial services, including the use of credit cards, which often makes cannabis dispensaries targets for theft.   During debate on the proposal… Read more.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Arkansas will likely beat the sales they recorded in 2022, a state spokesperson said. After selling $23.9 million in MMJ products in April, licensed dispensaries in Arkansas have sold $94 million so far this year, according to a news release from the state Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). Licensed stores sold $94 million in products for the same time period last year. “On average, patients are spending $787,000 a day at the state’s 38 dispensaries,”… Read more.

Leadership cited industry headwinds as the key factor for the move. One of the more prominent national marijuana trade groups, the National Cannabis Industry Association, this week cut its headcount by nearly half in order to save on costs and remain solvent through 2023. The organization’s leadership said the situation reflects broader belt-tightening across the industry. NCIA let go long-serving several senior staffers this week, including Communications Director Bethany Moore, Director of Government Relations Michael Correia, and COO Rob Kellogg,… Read more.

New legislation and major policy shifts have been proposed to stabilize the shaky rollout of New York’s adult-use marijuana program, including allowing some of the nation’s largest multistate operators (MSOs) to enter the expanded market by year’s end. Regulators at the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) recently proposed the revised regulations to jump-start the potential $3 billion market with more retail locations. Regulators also hope to energize a supply chain that currently offers limited business opportunities. As of press time, only 12 retailers had… Read more.

Cannabis industry earnings calls have been a little quieter this year. Fewer research analysts are covering the U.S. marijuana industry, which experts say reflects the challenging economic headwinds facing the industry, including high taxes, high interest rates, rock-bottom stock prices and the slow pace of federal MJ reform. New York-based Cantor Fitzgerald and Cowen are among the more notable financial-services firms that have dropped coverage of U.S. plant-touching cannabis companies. “It speaks to the unhealthy state of our industry,” Jesse… Read more.

Regulated adult-use marijuana sales in New York state have surpassed $16.5 million since the first dispensary opened in December, state regulators said last week. Despite early estimates projecting sales in excess of $1 billion in 2023, lawsuits and bureaucratic delays have consigned New York’s adult-use market to a slow start. Many licensed equity operators have struggled to secure funding and real estate to launch their businesses, and the multistate operators who hold most of New York’s limited medical marijuana licenses are still shut… Read more.

The Canadian federal government’s revenue service is ramping up pressure on cannabis producers with outstanding excise debt, MJBizDaily has learned, adding more pressure on companies that already are struggling financially. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is said to be raising the possibility of garnishment, liens on plant property and equipment, and legal action. Excise payment debts have soared in recent years, as cannabis producers suffer from a combination of industry-wide overproduction, which is driving down prices, and high taxes at various levels… Read more.

Unionized workers at five Chicago-area PharmaCann adult-use cannabis dispensaries have received a 20% wage hike over three years, the latest pay raise secured by organized labor in the marijuana industry. The increase represents yet another win for organized labor, which continues to pile pressure on major cannabis industry operators across the country. Last week, workers at PharmaCann’s Verilife dispensaries, who are organized by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 777, approved a three-year contract that will see hourly wages increase by… Read more.

Whitney Economics, a cannabis research firm, recently conducted a comprehensive analysis of the impact of federal taxes on the cannabis industry. The findings revealed that in 2022, cannabis operators incurred an astonishing $1.8 billion in additional taxes compared to conventional businesses. Looking ahead, it is projected that this excess burden will rise even further to reach $2.1 billion in 2023. The Reason Behind The Higher Tax Burden for Cannabis Operators Despite the growing number of states that have legalized medicinal… Read more.

Cannabis debt has been typically given low ratings if receiving a rating at all. This week, cannabis commercial real estate lender Pelorus Capital Group announced that $50 million in aggregate principal amount of 7% senior secured notes due September 26, 2026 issued by its private mortgage real estate investment trust subsidiary, the Pelorus Fund REIT, have been assigned an A rating by Egan-Jones Rating Company – the highest rating issued to date in the cannabis industry. “We are proud to achieve a cannabis-industry first… Read more.

Net loss for the quarter rose due to lower gross profit and high one-time costs. Las Vegas-based Planet 13 Holdings Inc. (CSE:PLTH) (OTCQB:PLNHF) posted a 3% decline in revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, which it primarily attributed to a significant drop in the average price of cannabis in Nevada. Quarterly revenue fell to $24.9 million from $25.7 million in the same period in 2022. Amid recent downturns, the company saw improvements in retail revenue from their SuperStore, as cannabis prices… Read more.

The iconic Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie built his considerable fortune and status as a manufacturing titan on the back of his insatiable pursuit of cost reduction through efficiency. After making a small fortune in the burgeoning rail industry, the young Carnegie was ready for his next opportunity. He had become privy to a revolutionary steel-making technique called the Bessemer process, which used molten pig iron to generate significantly higher output with a fraction of the labor. Carnegie built… Read more.

A group of California distributors and brands representing more than half the state’s wholesale B2B cannabis market has hired a credit association to rate retailers in the hopes of reducing the hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid invoices – and reining in repeat offenders. The Credit Management Association (CMA), a nonprofit based in suburban Los Angeles, is analyzing accounts receivables and other documents from more than a dozen distributors and brands. The CMA plans to email each of the… Read more.

Missouri legalization impacted Illinois sales. Jushi Holdings Inc. (CSE: JUSH) (OTCQX: JUSHF) announced its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2023. Total revenue increased 12.9% to $69.9 million over last year’s $61.9 million, but fell sequentially by 9% from $76.8 million. It also missed the Yahoo! Finance average analyst estimate for revenue of $74 million. Jushi said that the increase in revenue was due to new dispensary openings from build outs and acquisitions. The company acquired Apothecarium and NuLeaf in Nevada during… Read more.

In 2014, Colorado made history as the first state in the country to open recreational dispensaries for legal cannabis sales. No one really knew what to expect, but one thing was clear right away: The infant industry was growing fast. As consumers became more savvy and product lines became more diverse, entrepreneurial-minded individuals working in the space saw a wealth of opportunity. One sector that provided this opportunity hinged on growing interest in vape products. Two Colorado budtenders at a… Read more.

Graham sees opportunity for both legacy operators and newcomers, but warns against opportunists. Social Impact: Kassia Graham, Cannaclusive Kassia Graham, a vocal advocate for diversity and equity in the cannabis industry, is using her platform to affect change. As the founder of Cannaclusive, Graham noted that the organization is “dedicated to helping to raise the profile of BIPOC in cannabis, whether they are consumers or people within the industry.” She was awarded the 2023 Green Market Report Women’s Leadership Award for… Read more.

Several cuts in the second half of 2022 contributed to a 27% improvement in operating costs. California-based WM Technology Inc., better known as Weedmaps, (Nasdaq: MAPS) shrank its losses to $3.9 million for the first quarter of 2023, from more than $31 million lost in the first quarter a year ago, while also increasing its client base by 12% compared to the same time period. Weedmaps’ monthly paying client list increased to 5,641 from 5,026 in the first quarter 2022, the company… Read more.

Declining prices and out-of-state competition hurt the state's industry. This story was republished with permission by Crain’s Chicago and written by John Pletz.  Illinois marijuana sales growth flattened last month for the first time since the state legalized recreational cannabis in 2020, hurt by declining prices and out-of-state competition. April sales totaled $132 million, compared with $131.8 million in same period a year earlier, according to the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation. The rate of year-over-year revenue growth in Illinois has… Read more.

Both parties accused each other of not understanding FDA processes. After psychedelic drug company Mind Medicine (Nasdaq: MNMD) released a detailed letter to shareholders pushing back against an attempted board coup by a company called FCM MM Holdings, FCM responded with its own letter to shareholders accusing the current board of botching the company’s strategy as well as other misdeeds. FCM MM Holdings and its affiliates beneficially own 1,368,538 common shares of MindMed Inc., representing approximately 3.5% of the outstanding common shares.… Read more.

Launching a new product line is hard work. It’s also expensive, especially for startups that may not have the up-front investment for all the equipment, raw materials, labor, packaging, and warehouse space required to create, store, and ship goods that may or may not resonate with the targeted consumers. Knowing this, some companies turn to white-label manufacturers to achieve their goals. White-label companies make products under contract for other businesses that then apply their own branding and sales channels to deliver the… Read more.

StateHouse recorded a net loss of $196 million in the fourth quarter. StateHouse Holdings Inc. (CSE: STHZ) (OTCQX: STHZF) reported total net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2022 increased 68.8% to $25.5 million, compared with $15.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, it fell sequentially from the third quarter revenue of $30.8 million. The California-based company this week announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2022. Total operating expenses in the fourth quarter were $19 million.… Read more.

The governor of Washington State has signed a bill to allow interstate marijuana commerce, pending a federal policy change. The legislation from Sen. Ann Rivers (R) cleared the legislature last month, and Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed it into law on Thursday. Before signing the bill, Inslee urged Congress to modernize national marijuana laws, saying that federal legalization “will help our well-regulated cannabis industry remain competitive, while still meeting health and public safety standards.” He also quipped that Washington State needs… Read more.

Terrapin signed a deal in 2021 to acquire property in Auburn. Colorado cannabis company Terrapin Care Station decided to reverse course on a previously announced production facility in the town of Auburn, New York, which a company spokesman said was due to delays in getting the broader market operational. Terrapin Care Station is a second-tier multistate operator, with a footprint in Michigan, Missouri, and Pennsylvania in addition to its home state of Colorado, according to the company website. Terrapin signed a real… Read more.

The West Coast always will be known as the birthplace of the modern cannabis industry, but the past decade has proved being a first mover doesn’t always result in a long-term advantage. When Colorado and Washington opened their doors to adult use in 2012, followed by California and Oregon a few years later, the West Coast seemed destined to carve the landscape of the modern American cannabis industry. In many ways, West Coast companies have been an influential force, albeit… Read more.

When Adam Bierman started his journey in the cannabis industry in 2008, he was a California kid with a brash personality and ambitions to destigmatize the plant and promote its benefits, both medicinal and recreational. By the time he co-founded MedMen with Andrew Modlin just two years later, the pair had created a business pitch impressive enough to land Bierman at the helm of what would become the most high-profile—and most controversial—cannabis company in the United States. Bierman is blessed… Read more.

Cannabis analytics firm New Frontier Data sees brighter days for the U.S. pot industry, projecting $71B of legal marijuana sales in 2030 if the current trend in state-level legalization continues even without legal immunity at the federal level. While 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have already legalized weed, cannabis companies struggle with operational inefficiencies as their supplies must remain within state boundaries with no federal protection. Even banking access is limited: SAFE Banking Act which aims to allow… Read more.

Glass House Brands, a Long Beach company widely considered to run the largest cannabis farm in California, is growing pot inside 2 million square feet of Southern California greenhouses. At any given time, the company has 750,000 pot plants in the ground and has the capability to grow more than 300,000 pounds of pot a year. It expects to add another 1 million square feet this year, and it plans on growing more than 5 million square feet of cannabis… Read more.

Missouri plans to license an initial round of 48 cannabis microbusinesses, to be awarded via a lottery in October. The microbusiness licenses “are designed to allow marginalized or under-represented individuals to participate in the legal marijuana market,” according to new release issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Microbusiness retail licenses will be available to medical marijuana and adult-use retailers; wholesale licenses will permit cannabis cultivation and manufacturing. Microbusiness wholesale facilities may grow up to 250 flowering cannabis… Read more.

Lee Stowell worked on Wall Street selling high yield junk bonds for 25 years before deciding to return to her native Vermont with her six children in March 2020 to take over a medical cannabis operation in Brandon, called Grassroots Vermont. "I wanted to get back to Vermont," Stowell said in a recent interview. "I built my house 15 years ago, but I didn't move up here permanently until Covid hit." Stowell built her house on Goodsell Point on Lake Champlain… Read more.

Some marijuana multistate operators have weathered the perfect storm of macroeconomic headwinds, cannabis-specific challenges and legislative disappointments better than others, as evidenced by full-year and fourth-quarter results reported this spring. Analysts and cannabis industry executives said they underestimated the impact of a multitude of challenges in the fourth quarter, which included: Inflation driving up the cost of operations, many of which are business expenses that don’t qualify for tax breaks because of Section 280E of the federal tax code. Inflation driving down… Read more.

Last year, Leafly partnered with Uber Eats to offer cannabis delivery directly to customers' homes in Canada. This collaboration marked a significant milestone as it was the first time cannabis delivery was made available on a leading third-party delivery platform. At the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami Beach on Tuesday, Ryan MacIsaac, a lawyer at Uber Technologies Inc (UBER), and Yoko Miyashita, the CEO of Leafly Holdings Inc (LFLY), shared some of their experiences. According to Miyashita, the primary obstacle for a company like Leafly… Read more.

Sales on 4/20 were roughly twice the sales of a typical Thursday. Now that 4/20 is officially in the rearview mirror, the bean counters say that this year’s holiday did not disappoint. Consumers clearly don’t care whether cannabis companies are making any money or not, they were here to party. Flowhub said that 2023 was the busiest 4/20 holiday in history for dispensaries by average transaction count, up 5% from 2022 and nearly twice as busy as a typical Thursday.… Read more.

The Nasdaq stock exchange has warned another marijuana company that it could be delisted if it doesn’t comply with the rules. Agrify Corp., a Massachusetts-based cannabis cultivation and extraction solutions company, received a notice of noncompliance from Nasdaq because the company hasn’t filed its 10-K form with its full-year financial results to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission on time. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq as AGFY, could be delisted from the exchange if it fails to regain compliance, according to a… Read more.

Produce and marijuana company Village Farms International has been warned by the Nasdaq stock exchange about its low share price. The company’s Nasdaq-listed shares (VFF) have closed below $1 since March 7. Village Farms has until Oct. 17 to become compliant with Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid price requirement, the Delta, British Columbia-based company said in a Monday news release. If not, “the company may be eligible for an additional period of 180 calendar days to regain compliance or may be subject to delisting… Read more.

TerrAscend Corp. (CSE: TER) (OTC: TRSSF) decided to celebrate 420 by filing its preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in its next step to listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX). While the company had hoped to time the release at 4:20pm, it managed to post the notice at 5:30pm. Shareholders will first have to approve the proposed transaction, which is expected, and the listing would come shortly thereafter. The meeting is scheduled for June 22, 2023… Read more.

News of widespread layoffs at cannabis companies across the United States has dominated headlines, but an analysis of employee counts at America’s largest multistate operators shows several actually grew their payrolls last year. The fact that employee payrolls were up for some marijuana MSOs at the end of 2022 but down for others underscores how several factors can play a role in determining a company’s health. Those factors include geographic footprint, taxes, operating costs and capital availability, experts said. “The present moment… Read more.

Social consumption is also on the rise. The unofficial cannabis holiday of April 20 – better known as 4/20 – is tomorrow, and retailers should be prepared for a “massive” sales day, according to tech firms that have tracked sales in past years. “This is the Super Bowl for the industry,” said Socrates Rosenfeld, the CEO of California-based I Heart Jane, a tech platform that helps marijuana retailers facilitate sales. “It’s our Black Friday.” Rosenfeld said that despite headwinds in… Read more.

The chairman and CEO of troubled Skymint is out as the company battles through court-ordered receivership. “We can confirm that Jeff Radway is no longer with Skymint,” the company said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “As we work through this transition, our focus remains on ensuring we are providing exceptional products and unmatched service to our customers.” On April 7, Jeff Donahue, executive vice president and general counsel of Skymint, told employees in an email obtained by Crain’s that Radway… Read more.

Marijuana retailers in Rhode Island generated $8.7 million in total sales from Feb. 23 to March 23. The sales total for adult-use and medical cannabis products in the nation’s tiniest state represented a 17.4% increase month-over-month, according to the latest data from the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation. Adult-use sales, which launched Dec. 1 with five retailers, accounted for nearly 62% of sales, or $5.4 million, during that time period. Medical marijuana sales totaled $3.4 million. The state had 13,691 registered MMJ patients… Read more.

While the past few years have been no picnic for companies struggling to turn a profit, it looks like 2023 could be the most challenging year yet. A triple threat of high-interest debts, inflation, and overdue taxes is looming over some entities, which will have to make difficult decisions in order to survive. Meanwhile, consumers across the country continue to zig-zag between illicit and legal markets, hampering the anticipated growth of the industry from coast to coast. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) slowed dramatically… Read more.

Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NASDAQ: CGC) announced that it has entered into an exchange agreement with Greenstar Canada Investment Limited Partnership, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation Brands, Inc., in order to extinguish C$100 million (approximately USD$73.9 million) aggregate principal amount of the company’s outstanding 4.25% unsecured notes due 2023. The goal of the transaction is to preserve cash on hand and cut the company’s annual expenses. Greenstar is buying and then canceling the C$100 million aggregate principal amount of the Existing Notes held by GCILP… Read more.

Lawmakers in Washington State are on the cusp of passing legislation that would set the stage for licensed marijuana businesses to be able to engage in cross-border commerce with cannabis companies in other legal states. The state’s House of Representatives approved the bill, SB 5069, in a 71–26 vote on Wednesday. Members approved a minor amendment on the House floor to correct what was described as “a scrivener’s error” in a version passed by the Senate last montΩh. The fix means the… Read more.

The governor is celebrating the one-year anniversary of New Mexico's adult-use marijuana market. She highlights the state's impressive sales figures of over $300 million since April last year and the numerous job opportunities the cannabis industry has generated. On Monday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) reported that sales of recreational marijuana have remained consistent over the past year, with the monthly record for purchases being set in March at $32.3 million. Aside from the $300.1 million in sales generated by the adult-use… Read more.

As legalization proliferates across the United States, the cannabis industry’s rapid growth is forcing a reckoning with its environmental impact and how to reduce the resource consumption and waste that accompany commercial operations and products. Of particular concern to environmentalists and industry veterans is how to better manage the energy use required by cultivation facilities. According to some experts, the industry already accounts for more than 1 percent of all U.S. electricity consumption, and that percentage continues to rise as the industry… Read more.

Ask around, and you may hear 2023 is the most challenging year yet to operate a dispensary. With capital largely evaporating, licensed and illicit competition increasing, and customers conditioned to shop for deals, running a profitable store is becoming harder. As customers increasingly search for better deals, dispensaries have to defend their margins against downward pressure by eking out gains in operational efficiency and retaining existing customers. Since retail locations are where the customer interacts with the supply chain, problems flow… Read more.

Missouri total cannabis sales topped $125 million in March, according to the state Division of Cannabis Regulations data outlined by KSHB. The total includes $93.5 million in adult-use sales and $32.7 million in medical-use sales.   In a statement, MoCannTrade Executive Director Andrew Mullins said Missouri has “one of the most customer-friendly cannabis programs in the entire nation.”   Adult-use cannabis sales launched in Missouri in February and are so far on track to surpass $1 billion annually. The state sold $102 million worth of cannabis… Read more.

When you apply for a marijuana business license in California, one of the many documents you must sign is a sworn statement that your business will enter into a labor peace agreement, or LPA. Almost every licensed cannabis entrepreneur will eventually have to sign an LPA, which is a preliminary contract between your business and a labor union. However, many in the industry sign an LPA without even reading it or understanding what it means for their business – let… Read more.

Oregon marijuana cultivators have been suffering through another wholesale price slump as supply outstrips demand, a now-familiar pattern for the state’s mature adult-use market. Median wholesale prices were hovering near $600 per pound on March 1, down from a peak of more than $1,800 in 2017, according to Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) data. Interstate cannabis commerce could solve the problem by unleashing Oregon’s production glut on the rest of the U.S., but – barring wild success in a pending… Read more.

It’s no surprise that a lot of planning goes into developing a new line of pre-rolls. What might surprise you is just how many options you’ll have when it comes to bringing your project to life. You truly have the opportunity to create something unique, so don’t rush the process—try to enjoy it. Every pre-roll project is different, so it’s important to have a plan that will take into account all the specifics of your project and keep you going… Read more.

Marijuana multistate operator TerrAscend Corp. could become the first U.S. plant-touching company to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange by this summer if the restructuring plan it shared with shareholders and analysts wins TSX approval. And if the company is successful, that potential could trickle down to other U.S. plant-touching cannabis operators, which have been barred from major exchanges because marijuana remains federally illegal in the United States. Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings, for example, has also had discussions with the TSX about the possibility… Read more.

In an industry that once had an unusually high percentage of female CEOs, the marijuana sector now has fewer women in leadership positions than the U.S. average. According to MJBizDaily’s 2022 report, “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Cannabis Industry,” the percentage of women executives in cannabis fell from 36.8% in 2019 to 23.1% last year. Meanwhile, the Russell 3000 index of publicly traded companies reports that women now hold 28% of board seats of the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks it tracks. How did… Read more.

Mere months before Robert Fireman died suddenly in December, the co-founder and former CEO of Massachusetts-based MariMed shook up the cannabis company’s management team and created a succession plan. Doing so would prove to be prescient. After MariMed hired Susan Villare as chief financial officer in May 2022, former CFO and co-founder Jon Levine briefly moved to the role of chief administration officer. “Then we decided that I would be better off as president of the company, which put me… Read more.

While traveling recently I ran into Bud, a cannabis industry veteran, who I had known since I was a teenager. He is a big guy, trim, with impeccable taste. Nearly everyone likes him. He was married to another long-time industry insider. Their daughters, now grown, live scattered throughout the country and also work in the business. They all know everybody who is anybody, including “legacy” growers and sellers. Naturally, our conversation turned to the state of the compliant industry. Bud was… Read more.

Many have touted the health and tax revenue benefits cannabis can bestow. But little has been said about how the cannabis industry is leading the next industrialized revolution by building a new sector to manufacture cannabis products for a global marketplace. A robust and efficient infrastructure is key to building a thriving cannabis manufacturing sector that includes cultivation, processing, manufacturing, lab testing, sales, and distribution. As states build manufacturing supply chains within their borders, the groundwork for a national infrastructure… Read more.

Marijuana e-commerce platform Leafly Holdings this week laid off another 40 employees, or 21% of its workforce, a day before reporting its full-year and fourth-quarter financial results. The job cuts came as Leafly reported $47.4 million in revenue for 2022, a 10% increase from 2021, according to a Thursday news release about the Seattle-based company’s earnings. Operating costs, however, climbed more than 40% last year, although Leafly did manage to turn a profit of more than $5 million in 2022. “We’ve… Read more.

Illicit operators in New York are expected to capture $7.2 billion in untaxed revenue by 2030, according to a new report prepared by MPG Consulting for Acreage Holdings. In the New York Illicit Cannabis Market Absorption Analysis, MPG’s consultants outline the potential loss of 20,600 industry jobs and more than $2.6 billion in tax revenue over the next eight years if state regulators are unable to adequately address illicit market absorption. As the fourth-largest state by population with approximately 15 million adult residents,… Read more.

Cannabis flower prices per ounce have fallen in Michigan from $152 in January 2022 to $80 in January 2023, WOOD-TV reports. Benham Wrigley Jr., an attorney with CannaLex law, attributed the price decline to “oversupply.” According to a Crain’s Detroit Business report, there are five Michigan cannabis companies that have been placed under receiverships in the state. A receivership is a court-appointed tool that can assist creditors in recovering funds in default and can help troubled companies avoid bankruptcy.   SKYMINT, which has 24 dispensaries in Michigan and has entered into… Read more.

Missourians voted to legalize recreational, adult-use marijuana in November. That constitutional amendment also established a framework for marijuana "microbusinesses" — business licenses intended to allow more "everyday folks" to participate in the state's growing marijuana industry. "Right now, the way I see it is these microbusinesses are effectively small businesses that are designed to allow particular entities and individuals to own and operate them," Missouri's Division of Cannabis Regulation Director Amy Moore said. While the idea seems straightforward, the details… Read more.

Back in the 1950s, Humphry Osmond led a group of pioneering psychiatrists in an extensive study of psychedelics. And from that research, they found that these hallucinogenic drugs had immense therapeutic potential. With academic research coming to an indisputable conclusion and mental health awareness on the rise, the legal landscape is starting to peel back antiquated laws that were put in place 50 years ago. In creating a superior treatment for mental health disorders, the Shroom Boom will give rise… Read more.

THERE IS ARGUABLY nothing more important to the success of a business than the war for talent. Bad leadership can kill even the best businesses, while great leadership can buoy a company selling mids. As a still relatively young industry, the legal cannabis industry finds itself grappling with an interesting question: what is the right talent for cannabis?  In the quest for talent, leadership and the right “playbook,” it is quite common to hear people try to compare and contrast the legal cannabis… Read more.

It’s been one month since Missouri began approving licenses for dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana Feb. 3. In less than 30 days, Missouri’s nearly 200 dispensaries made about $103 million in weed sales – nearly $72 million of that came from recreational sales. According to Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MOCann), Missouri has already outpaced Illinois in adult-use sales. The state is the only one bordering Missouri that also has recreational use. The first month of adult-use cannabis sales… Read more.

One of the challenges facing multistate marijuana operators is creating standardized operating procedures for cultivation facilities in various markets. Such was the case with Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings in November 2020, when the company hired Matthew Indest, a plant breeding and development expert, for a newly created role: technical director of agronomy and plant improvement. At the time Indest joined Curaleaf Holdings, the company was operating in 19 states. “With our expansion and acquisitions, there were a lot of things done… Read more.

During the great cannabis land grab between 2018 and 2020, one newly public multistate operator (MSO) was decidedly more reserved in bidding for licenses in recently legalized locations. Planted firmly in Florida and laser-focused on dominating the limited-license, medical-only state, Trulieve appeared overly cautious next to its cavalier peers, many of whom were scattershot in their expansion plans, seemingly guided by a sense of inevitability around federal legalization and interstate commerce. Was Trulieve sacrificing the chance to become a national… Read more.

New Jersey's Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved a proposal that would bring a 10,000-square-foot cannabis dispensary and lounge to Atlantic City's historic Claridge Hotel and former gambling casino where Marilyn Monroe once judged the Miss America Pageant.  The Claridge Hotel, which opened in 1930 during the Great Depression as the last of the great hotels built near Atlantic City's Boardwalk, is making space for the High Rollers Dispensary on what used to be its casino floor. The Claridge is now a stand-alone hotel with no gambling.  Because the Claridge does not technically… Read more.

Cannabis has become a major cash crop in the United States owing to its legalization and increasing popularity. With the ever-growing demand for cannabis and other products derived from it, the cannabis industry has created thousands of employment and generated billions of dollars in revenue. According to a report by New Frontier Data, the legal marijuana market in the United States was valued at $17.5 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach up to $41.5 billion by 2025. MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM… Read more.

Vermont cannabis retailers sold about $5.7 million worth of cannabis products in January. Cannabis sales in Vermont reached $5.7 million in January, according to Agency of Administration data released last week. The state collected more than $1 million in tax revenues from cannabis sales.   Vermont collected $799,102 from the 14% excise tax on cannabis sales and $342,472 from the state’s regular 6% sales tax. Under the state’s adult-use law, cannabis excise tax revenues are used to “backfill” any deficit in the Cannabis… Read more.

California cannabis regulators have launched a $20 million grant program aimed at expanding consumer access to licensed cannabis products. The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) last week launched a $20 million grant program to expand consumer access to regulated cannabis, which the agency is calling “a national first-of-its-kind.” The grant will prioritize areas where national surveys find high cannabis consumption but have little to no access to cannabis retailers, the DCC said in a press release. The program “seeks to incentivize… Read more.

A Las Vegas off-Strip hotel plans to have an entire floor of cannabis-friendly rooms. Under new ownership by Elevations Hotels & Resorts, the Artisan Hotel Boutique will be rebranded as The Lexi. Officials at the 64-room property near Interstate 15 and Sahara Avenue say the ongoing multimillion-dollar transformation into a more modern, cannabis-inclusive hotel will attract tourists and locals alike. It hopes to open the cannabis floor in the spring. “(The Lexi is) going to be the coolest place to… Read more.

Despite all the hype and optimism that characterized the initiation of adult-use legalization, the past ten years of both business and tax revenues have fallen far short of investor and analyst projections. Today, companies of all sizes are struggling to survive, while a healthy percentage of consumers across the country continue to favor the illicit market for their purchases. In a book published last fall titled Can Legal Weed Win? The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics, two economists at the University… Read more.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The first adult-use cannabis dispensary north of New York City opened for business Friday on Court Street in Binghamton. It's no short drive for Western New Yorkers, at seven hours round-trip, but it is half the distance to the next-closest legal dispensaries in Manhattan. Just Breathe. will be owned and operated jointly by the Broome County Urban League, a nonprofit, and On Point Cannabis.  The dispensary is one of 66 applicants statewide who have received a license through… Read more.

The layoffs will represent 35 per cent of the company’s workforce. Forty per cent of the cuts will be immediate while the rest will take place over the course of the coming months. The former Hershey chocolate factory at 1 Hershey Drive in Smiths Falls was an iconic symbol of cannabis and cannabis legalization in Canada formerly under the Tweed banner. The company says it will move to an “asset-light model” and will also cease cannabis flower production from Smiths Falls to… Read more.

Canopy Growth Corp. announced Thursday it plans to lay off about a third of the company’s staff – close to 800 people – and close its flagship production facility in a former Hershey chocolate factory in Smiths Falls, Ont. It’s the latest blow to one of Canada’s cannabis giants, which boasted an $18-billion stockmarket valuation less than four years ago. Here’s a timeline of how Canopy’s marijuana dreams went up in smoke. 2013: Canopy Growth Corp., known as Tweed Marijuana Co. at the time, takes over… Read more.

A chain of cannabis stores that was once described as the “Apple store of weed” and valued as high as $1.7 billion as a public company, is near financial collapse, according to a regulatory filing. The company, MedMen, said that it has only $15.6 million in cash remaining versus $137.4 million in debt. “The conditions described above raise substantial doubt with respect to the company’s ability to meet its obligations for at least one year,” the company said in its filing last… Read more.

New legislation in Nevada seeks to remove the status of cannabis as a "controlled substance" and strip the Nevada Board of Pharmacy of authority over the plant and its derivatives. Assemblyman Reuben D'Silva said that under the proposed bill, the Cannabis Compliance Board would have oversight over marijuana, reported Fox 5 Vegas. "We don't need to have several levels of regulation on a substance now that we know is part and parcel of our community and part and parcel of our economy," D'Silva said. "In the end, this is a… Read more.

You can smell it in the air. The cannabis industry has grown exponentially since Colorado first legalized recreational use in 2012. Industry insiders predict total United States sales will reach $30 billion in 2023. One reason the outlook is so strong is cannabis customers are repeat shoppers. Forty-seven percent of users surveyed report daily consumption, and 51 percent were open to trying new products. Like all things these days, consumers find new products through their favorite social-media content creators. Influencers have had a favorable impact… Read more.

The first store in Illinois to combine marijuana and alcohol sales opened Wednesday in Wheeling, with its owners hoping to make it a place for customers to hang out and relax. Okay Cannabis is unlike any other business in the state, hosting licensed cannabis sales under the same roof with West Town Bakery, which serves beer, wine and liquor as well as bakery goods and other food. The majority owner is Charles Mayfield, who is interim chief operating officer for… Read more.

Cannabizteam Worldwide has released its 2023 Cannabis Industry Salary Guide exclusively via Benzinga Cannabis and El Planteo. The new guide shows remarkable strength in the U.S. cannabis job market in the face of global economic challenges. Over the last year, cannabis salaries rose 5% on average and compensation for top executives rose as much as 10% year-over-year. “Fueled by a substantial increase in new cannabis consumers, record sales of over $30 billion, and the addition of high-population adult-use states, the cannabis job market remains remarkably strong," said… Read more.

As the legal cannabis industry begins to blossom, a new threat looms on the horizon: the dreaded potency tax. Retailers and consumers alike would feel the pinch as products with higher levels of THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis would be taxed at a higher rate. This buzzkill of a tax would target the very heart of what makes cannabis so beloved - its potency. Imagine walking into your favorite cannabis dispensary, only to find that your go-to strain now comes with… Read more.

After the market closed on Wednesday, Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE: MCUR) (OTCQB: MCURF) announced its financial results for the quarter ending November 30, 2022. Keep in mind that last year in March, Mind Cure announced it needed more money and that was unlikely to be found. Accordingly, Mind Cure made the decision to eliminate all expenses outside those required to preserve the value of its assets including its public company status with Canadian securities regulators and cash and cash equivalents. At the… Read more.

A new “cannabis super center,” filled with 20 pot farms and multiple cannabis retailers, is likely coming to California’s Mojave Desert. The property’s developer has advertised the 29-acre complex as a “once-in-a-generation” project with a mix of “stores, entertainment, and supermarkets, not to mention its unique cannabis offerings.” The development, located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the city of Barstow, has received heavy criticism from local Christian groups, who warned that it would signal to the world that Barstow “belongs… Read more.

The historic storms pummeling California have caused widespread fallout for cannabis operators across the state and are disrupting operations and possibly supplies. As days of high winds and catastrophic rains batter the coast, some marijuana companies have temporarily closed operations and shored up their facilities in a desperate attempt to lessen the damage. Several businesses told MJBizDaily their operations have been flooded, causing untold economic setbacks. Others have reported product losses as heavy rains damaged crops. Widespread power outages have also halted… Read more.

NEW YORK- After Canadian cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc. TLRY, +1.09% said it had lost money in the second quarter, its stock fell 3.7% in premarket trading on Monday. In contrast to a profit of $5.8 million, or breakeven per share, for same time last year, Tilray recorded a loss of $61.64 million, or 11 cents per share, for the second quarter. The adjusted loss was 6 cents per share, in line with the analysts’ forecasts. The second quarter’s net revenue for the business dropped from $155.15 million to $144.14 million. On a constant currency basis, net revenue in the most recent quarter totaled $157.6… Read more.

Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire and former owner of the English Premier League's Chelsea Football Club, has been discreetly investing in cannabis enterprises for years. According to Forensic News, the news outlet that obtained the secret documents, Roman Abramovich has contributed to funding the two largest shareholders of Curaleaf Holdings. The Russian businessman is also said to have close relations with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Curaleaf, the alleged cannabis company Roman Abramovich has been secretly investing in, is a renowned recreational… Read more.

Russian billionaire and a former owner of the Chelsea Football Club, which plays in the English Premier League, Roman Abramovich, has been secretly investing in cannabis companies for years. According to leaked documents, sourced and shared by Forensic News, a Russian oligarch known for his close ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin has helped fund the two biggest shareholders of multi-state cannabis operator Curaleaf Holdings  CURLF. With a market cap of around $3.08 billion, the Wakefield, Massachusetts-headquartered company is considered one of the largest marijuana businesses in the… Read more.

DENVER – MJBiz Chief Executive Officer Chris Walsh, who has been with the company since its founding in 2011, will depart in January, MJBiz announced Friday. Walsh indicated he will take some time off before seeking new opportunities. As founding editor, Walsh developed the content strategy and direction for the website Marijuana Business Daily (now MJBizDaily), one of the first media outlets aimed at industry professionals. He also oversaw the development and publication of the print trade journal Marijuana Business Magazine (now MJBiz Magazine), the annual… Read more.

BEND, Oregon–According to a press release, Ross and Zach Lipson, who co-founded the privately held Oregon company, have resigned from their positions of leadership, and the board of directors has selected a new chief executive officer, chief financial officer, general counsel, and vice president of engineering. Tim Barash: New CEO of Dutchie Tim Barash, the new CEO, had previously held the positions of chief financial officer and chief business officer at Toast, a Boston-based software firm that trades on the… Read more.

The age of buying marijuana when you fill up your car has arrived in the United States – at least in Florida. Green Thumb Industries, one of the biggest multistate operators in the U.S., signed an agreement with Circle K – one of the largest convenience-store chains in the world – that allows the cannabis company to lease space and open medical marijuana dispensaries adjacent to Circle K locations in Florida. The Chicago-based cannabis company plans to start a “test and learn”… Read more.